Spellbinders’ Fanciful 5×7 Card

Today I’m sharing this fanciful 5×7 card featuring Spellbinders’ March 2024 Large and Small Die Club Kits. I paired these with the Hero Arts Bookcase Peek-A-Boo Stamp, creating a magical library scene that makes me want to jump back into the Harry Potter series again!

I don’t usually make 5×7 cards; actually, I’ve never made a 5×7 card, but this design layout demanded more space. That adorable owl is almost 3″ tall, and after propping him up on a stack of fairy tales and adding the forest blooming to life from an open book, I was way beyond the usual 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 layout. But I love the scale of this, and I think it adds to the whimsical nature of this card design.

I ink blended the background and heat embossed a starry sky before stamping the bookshelves in brown ink. I die cut all the elements from colored cardstock and a couple of specialty cardstocks. I considered adding some ink blending to the die cuts for shading and dimension, but in the end, I decided that it would have been too fussy for this design.

I’m so happy with how this card turned out, and I can’t wait to send it off to the recipient. All the details, including step-by-step instructions and a supply list, can be found below. Have a magical weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

STEPS

1.) Create the background.
▪️ Trim a piece of white cardstock to just shy of 5 x 7.
▪️ Stamp a starry sky on the top third of the card panel ( I used a SSS stamp that is no longer available but there are a ton of other options out there) with clear embossing ink and heat emboss with white embossing powder.
▪️ Add color to the background using Distress Inks and blending brushes. I used Chipped Sapphire, Villainous Potion, and Black Soot on the top third of the card panel, over the stars, concentrating the color on the edges and softening towards the center. Use Antique Linen and Gathered Twigs on the bottom two-thirds of the card panel, again concentrating the color on the edges and softening towards the center.
▪️ Stamp the Hero Arts Bookcase image in brown ink at the bottom of the panel.
2.) Die cut and assemble the elements for the card.
▪️ Use metallic papers for the owl and the decorative design on the books.
▪️ Use matte gold cardstock for the owl’s glasses.
▪️ Use colored cardstock for the remaining elements. The tree trunks were not long enough so I did a partial die-cutting of just the tree tops and then extended the trunks with scissors.
▪️ Assemble the owl and the books and secure with liquid adhesive.
3.) Assemble the card.
▪️ Attach the books with liquid adhesive.
▪️ Determine the placement of the tree trunks and secure a layer of tree tops that will be behind the tree branches with liquid adhesive. Add the tree trunks, tucking them behind the books and securing with liquid adhesive. Using thin foam squares, add another layer or two of tree tops over the tree branches.
▪️ With liquid adhesive, attach the owl and flowers (from the Jan 24 Stitching Die of the Month).
4.) Create the sentiments.
▪️ Use the sentiment from Lawn Fawn’s Out of this World stamp set for the sentiment strip. Heat emboss with gold on blue cardstock and die cut with a sentiment strip banner die.
▪️ Die cut Magical (from Spellbinders’ April 2019 Card Kit) once from matte gold cardstock and twice from white cardstock. Stack these and glue together.
▪️ Attach both to the card front with a combination of thin foam squares and liquid adhesive, depending on the tree top depths.
5.) Finish the card.
▪️ Attach the card panel to a piece of blue cardstock trimmed to 5 x7.
▪️ Attach everything to a side-fold 5 x7 card base.